Ernie Els watched the game 'pass him by' in his 40s. The PGA Tour Champions changed that

USA Today

7 hours ago

The ever-present, never-ceasing drive to keep improving is one of the pillars of golf. For anyone who loves the sport, it is perhaps the most relatable, constant aspect of why it's all so alluring.
The swing is always evolving, on good days getting better and on frustrating days seemingly worse. Performances from round to round often feel fluid, with that next tier of personal improvement just in front of you but difficult to attain.
Golf is the sport in which everyone is running on a similar treadmill, chasing that proverbial carrot.
That idea is one of the reasons why Ernie Els has been so successful on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, which included a win at the 2024 Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club. Els returned this week as the defending champ, shooting a rain-soaked 2-over 72 during June 19's opening round.
Ernie Els finding success with PGA Tour Champions leading into Kaulig Companies Championship
Els, now 55 and already a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, still has the love to keep grinding. It's part of what keeps him and everyone else on the PGA Tour Champions going.
"We still work on the game," Els said this week at Firestone Country Club. "You'll see a lot of guys out there on the range really working on their games because you still want to play at some kind of level within yourself. I think that's what drives us, what drives us all.
"I still feel like I want to try and improve in a lot of areas in my game, and that's what we're still battling out."
More: Making a difference for autism, Ernie Els is Golfweek's 2024 Father of the Year
Of course, playing the game competitively as a player begins to hit certain age milestones requires adjustments, and sometimes admissions that don't want to be made. It hit Els in his late 40s as his body would no longer allow him to do some of the things needed to beat the best up-and-coming players on the PGA Tour.
Joining the PGA Tour Champions a few years ago served as a vehicle for rejuvenation. And Els has often been the player to beat.
"I think it's just a love for the game still," Els said. "I think in my late 40s, I had a bit of a dry run on the regular tour. You just get a little bit — the game kind of passes you by late in your 40s. It happened with me.
"Out here on the Champions Tour, you come out as a rookie when you're 50, you look at guys that you played with and they might be 10 years older than you, so they're kind of phasing out a little bit, so you feel you have a chance to do something again."
The admission that he was transitioning into a new phase of his career wasn't easy to accept at first. It's something every golfer can relate to eventually, just at different levels.
"You know, it's a sudden slowdown," Els said. "All of a sudden, you just wake up and, man, you know, the youngsters are hitting a 3-wood where you're hitting your driver. You're struggling to get to a par 5 with the youngsters hitting a 4-iron.
"The game becomes a lot harder. … You start getting left behind a little bit, so it's not a brilliant feeling."
In addition to being reenergized by his newer circumstances, Els has also developed a love for the mentorship side of golf. He used to be the one listening, and now he's the one being asked questions. It's not entirely clear when he fell into that role, but he's certainly there now.
"I remember Nick Price, he was my mentor, and Price is almost 15 years ahead of me. Your friends start calling you 'Old man,'" Els said with a smile. "[Years ago] I started hitting my 3-wood the way his driver was, he said, 'You're going to get there one day, see what you feel like.' It happens to all of us.
"If you can call it mentorship or just plain old talk about golf, you know, I love it when people's eyes [light up]. You can see when people are listening to you."
2025 Kaulig Companies Championship leaderboard: Soren Kjeldsen, Ricardo Gonzalez lead after Round 1
Soren Kjeldsen and Ricardo Gonzalez both carded 3-under-par 67s to tie for the first round lead of the Kaulig Companies Championship. The first round featured some heavy winds, rain and a one-hour delay, offering far-from-perfect circumstances as players dealt with the conditions as much as the course.
Steven Alker, Retief Goosen and Stewart Cink are all one shot back of the lead entering June 20's second round. Last year, Alker shot a 65 in the second round en route to a T-7 finish.